The Tightrope Walker
by zizzy333
Summary: As the band played its final note she stepped off the tightrope... and started falling. All except for one seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for her to hit the ground...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own Monk or any of it's characters. HA! Now you can't sue me!

**_ The Tightrope Walker_**

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Brandon sat on the bed with the phone to his ear. "Well it was a long day at work so I am going to hit the bunks now."

"Okay honey. I'll see you on Saturday." replied his wife's voice.

"Lets hope sooner. How can job interview last a week?" He said kicking off his shoes and lying on the bed.

She laughed. "I don't know. I still wish you would stay in the business with me."

"Yha- but think about it. Do I really want to be remembered as a band conductor?" Then he yawned.

"Okay- okay I'll let you go. Good night!" she said cheerfully.

"Night." He replied and hung up. He sighed as he put down the phone. He looked over at the clock. It was eight p.m. He picked up the book he had been reading and opened to where he left off when he felt someone lie in bed next to him. He looked over to see Katie.

"Who was that honey?" she said stroking his cheek.

"It was Christina again. I wish she would just take a vacation and never come back." She laughed softly. Then all of the sudden she reached over and kissed him passionately.

After a few moments she pulled away and asked "How are we going to get rid of her?"

"Don't worry about that- I've got it all planned out." He said with a devilish grin.

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TBC…

I know- its short but it's just the prologue. I promise will have longer chapters! Please review!


	2. Bart’s and Kimberly’s Circus

Disclaimer- I do not own Monk or any of it's characters.

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"Come on! Come on! We are going to be late!" Julie exclaimed pulling Natlie's hand towards the car.

"No we're not Julie, just be patient! Hold on. I need to grab the keys. Ouch! Julie stop. Stop! Let go!" she was able to squirm her way out of her daughters iron grip after stepping on a Lego on the ground and tripping over some shoes.

She quickly grabbed the car keys and her cell phone and walked out to the car where Julie was already sitting. She looked at her watch and figured out they _were_ going to be late. She turned the keys and sped down the street towards the famous Bart's and Kimberly's Circus.

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The plan was going perfectly.

Brandon already arranged with Christina that she would be lined up with the ending platform when he stopped the band so she would step off the line. Since she was a tightrope walker it would seem like an accident, especially since her act is that she walks the tightrope blindfolded-- with no net.

She had his trust completely because they have always had little plans like that to make sure she was safe. This time it was a secret though. Everyone else in the circus thought that she had a little peak hole in the blindfold- and that is how they usually did it too.

_Soon_, he thought, _I will be able to start a brand new life with Katie, and Christina will be—no more, _and with that he let out a laugh that cut through the silence like a knife in his dressing room.

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Adrian was worried. Natalie told him that Julie and her were going to a circus earlier in the week and she needed the day off.

Monk tried to reason with her. He told it was a bad idea. Then he told her about all the germs and the clowns and the lions and the traipse artist.

She wouldn't budge. So they went to the circus.

Adrian sat on the couch for a moment thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

Then he looked around and was horrified to see a smudge on the window. He quickly went to get a rag and some Windex.

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Natalie and Julie made it just on time. Natalie made sure they got very good tickets and were in the first row.

Once they took their seats the lights dimmed and drums rolled. Soon a single spot light lighted up the ring master. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Bart's and Kimberly's Circus! My name is Rick the Ringmaster! And I would like to introduce you to some of my friends!" then the whole stage lit up and the band picked up a cheerful tune.

Then elephants, clowns, and lions came out and did a parade around the ring. Julie was really enjoying it. Natalie was really glad she bought the tickets.

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Christina wasn't too nervous for her act. She was so used to it now that she could do it with her eyes closed. Actually they were blindfolded- but it was just an expression.

As she was putting on blush she saw the door open and to her shock her mother stepped in. Christina was so surprised to see her she almost fell off her chair.

"Mom! Why- What are you doing here?" She asked standing up and walking over to hug her.

" Oh, I herd you were in town so I decided to see my number one daughter!" she said embracing her.

"Oh that's so nice of you- but you could have called- or knocked at least." Her mother chuckled.

"Your on in ten!" somebody called through the door.

Christina rolled her eyes. "I have to go."

"Oh, sorry for holding you up dear! I will see you in ten minutes!" and with that she walked out the door.

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Natalie was flicking through the little booklet they have been given and read out loud,   
"First clowns, then traipse and then tightrope."

Julie's eyes lit up. " I love the traipse and the tightrope too! I can't wait!"

Then the clowns came out. "I hate clowns though, they are sort of scary." They did their little act and then the traipse artist came out. They did flips and twirls and they got many ohh's and aww's from the audience.

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Brandon was dizzy with nervousness. What if someone figured out that he purposely made her fall? What if she didn't fall in general? He just kept conducting the band and was practically counting down the seconds until Christina's final song.

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TBC…

Sorry for the wait guys! I been having a lot of storms around here and almost every other day the power is out. I finally got time to type this chapter and I have another one on the way! Thanks to Rach () for reviewing my story! It sort of dose sound like the Airplane episode doesn't it? lol Please Review!


	3. The Fall

Disclaimer- I do not own Monk or any of it's characters

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"I want to be in the circus when I grow up! That looked so fun!" Julie exclaimed.

"I don't think so- what if you fell?" Natalie said watching her daughters face turn grim.

"Your right! That would be scary! Never mind!" Julie exclaimed.

Then Rick the Ringmaster came back out and said "Lets give another round of applause to our traipse team!" The audience burst it to applause again. The traipse artist took another bow and went back stage.

After the clapping died down Rick said, "Now I want to introduce you to Christina Havlo, our very own tightrope walker!"

Then a spot light went over to Christina up on the tightrope platform. The audience started to applauded for her but then the band struck up a cheerful tune and the act started. She walked the tightrope back and forth.

The audience gasped in fear that she would fall but they were also really enjoying the risk of it all. Once she was safely on the platform everyone started to clap and whistle. Then Rick said "That's not all, come on Christina… show us what you got!"

She happily nodded and grabbed some balls and started to juggle them. Then she stepped on the line and walked back and forth. Each time she got to a platform she did something different. The audience seemed to be holding there breath each time she stepped back out on the tightrope.

After balancing a stick on her nose, juggling, hula hopping, and riding a unicycle across it Rick stepped back out and announced "Now it is time for her ultimate trick- She is going to walk across it blindfolded. No problem right? Take down the net boys!" and then the net fell.

Then Christina tied the blindfold around her eyes as the audience started to cheer.

"Mom! Now if she falls, she will… fall!" Julie said horrified.

"Oh- don't worry! She has done this a million times." Natalie explained trying to comfort Julie. But inside she was worried too. The suspense was killing her. Even she was starting to enjoy the circus.

The band started playing a new song, one to match the mood that was going through the audience. It was sort of a song that made you feel uneasy. Brandon played this song every time she did this but this time, for the first time in a while, the song was making him sweat too.

If Brandon was nervous before, he didn't know how to explain what was going through him now. Did he really want to pull through with this. Yes, he did. He thought he was going to puke. It was his time to act and he was not going to back out of it. He just took a deep breath and kept on conducting.

Christina stepped off of the platform and on the tightrope. She stood there for a second and then started walking slowly. Christina faked that she was having a hard time. She started to wobble, and pretend like she was about to fall just to here the audience gasp. She loved her job.

Over all she was doing pretty good. Since she had done it a million times before she did not expect anything to go differently. But she was dead wrong.

Then Christina herd the song about to come to a end. She walked a few more baby steps thinking that she was nearing the platform, but in reality she was just a little past the middle.

Brandon looked up at where Christina was on the tightrope and decided it was time to end the song, to end Christina. He conducted to the band to end the song. The band played its final note. Then there was silence.

Christina took her cue and stepped off the tightrope and to her horror, she started falling. Christina was to terrified to scream. "How could have this happened?" She thought as she neared the ground. Then with a sickening thud, everything went black.

The audience gasped and some screamed. They all stood up when she started falling just to watch and to see what happened, to see if she would be saved. Nobody liked what they saw, Brandon was even a little sickened by what he just did.

Natalie quickly covered Julie's eyes, but the worst had already happened. She hardly believed what she saw was real. Her mind was racing as she watched the paramedics and some others rush up to see if she lived.

Then the circus manager took up the microphone and said "Please, if you would exit to your right in a orderly fashion, front row first and so on. We are very sorry you had to see that and it has never happened before."

He then put down the microphone. and turned to see what the paramedics word on it was. The nearest doctor looked up with a grim face and he and shook his head. Brandon mentally patted himself on the back. His job here was finished. His life would finally be normal and circus free because Christina Havlo was dead.

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After Adrian cleaned all the windows in his house, swept, and vacuumed he sat down to have some lunch. He put some chicken noodle soup on the stove and turned on the television.

Fox News was rambling on about something that didn't involve him what so ever so he was only half listening when they said "This just in. Just ten minutes ago Bart's and Kimberly's circus suffered a major crisis."

Something clicked in Adrian mind and he remembered that that is where Natalie and Julie were. He whirled around to the television and listened more intensely. "Christina Havlo, the tight rope walker took a dramatic fall to her death. The act was that she walked it blindfolded with no net. Sadly the audience there saw everything…" that's when the phone rang. Adrian predicted who it was a grabbed the phone quickly.

"Hello?" Adrian asked in to the phone.

"Oh my God, Adrian, we were watching the tightrope act and then-" Natalie was cut off.

"I know, I know. I watched the news. Are you two okay?" Adrian asked.

"I guess." She sighed. "Adrian, I think you should look in to this." Natalie stated slowly.

"Why? There is no mystery, she fell." He replied half laughing.

"No, I mean, when she fell it seemed like she was stepping off, like she thought the platform was there." Natalie said.

"If anything she might have committed suicide." Adrian said shrugging.

"Come on, think about the chances of that. I have been thinking about this for a while. I think that someone tampered with the rope or put sleeping gas on the blindfold or- I don't know! Can you just please come down here?" she asked in a depressed voice.

Adrian sighed. "I- um- can't. I can't drive! Also I have noodles going on the stove." Adrian simply stated but he was starting to run out of excuses.

"I will be there in five minutes. Thanks Adrian!" Natalie said quickly.

"But- Natalie! There is no point! The police will take care of it! Natalie? Natalie?" then he heard the dial tone. He sighed as he hung up. He didn't have a choice, it seemed he had to investigate it for Natalie.

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TBC…

Okay there is a long history behind this story. Well sorta. One day in the car my dad said "You guys want to solve a riddle?" We said yes.

"Okay, here it is… When the music stopped she died." We could only ask yes or no questions and have three major clues.

After two hours of this we were stumped he told us that she was a tightrope walker and her husband was wanting to get rid of her and so he planned it with her when he stopped the music and she stepped off. I thought it would be great applied to Monk!

Thanks for reviewing bringirl! Sorry if this chapter is a little short. I have a whole bunch of other riddles like that too and if you want me to I will post them. It is fun. Please Review!


	4. Murder?

Okay, I want to thank my reviewers…

Bringirl2001- You are a teacher? KEWL!

Jeasus Freak 87- That's what I was aiming for! lol

Rach- Thanks form dad (and me too)!

Osaka Chii- I know! No matter how many times I read it through, I always miss something! lol I'll try harder.

On to the story!

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Once Adrian got to the "crime seen" he started looking around. Natalie just watched him, expecting him to come up with something brilliant.

Adrian was having troubles concentrating. There was a pretty big crowd out side as people tried to get out, and he didn't like crowds.

Then he saw some clowns on the other side of the ring. He shuddered and moved a little further away from them.

After that he saw the paramedics caring off Christina Halo's broken body. He was going to go mad if he didn't get out of here soon.

Adrian was only half heartedly looking around when a police came up to him and offered him a video tape.

"This is a tape of when Christina fell." He said handing it to Adrian.

"Oh, okay, thanks." He said quickly handing it over to Natalie and taking out a wipe.

After the police officer watched him sanitize his hands he added "There is a backroom where you can watch that. Follow me."

Adrian and Natalie strode after him in to a medium sized room with a little television on a table. He put the video tape in and it started playing the act.

Adrian watched carefully as she put the blindfold on. He noticed that she put it on securely, so she wouldn't be able to see.

Then as she got on the tightrope he saw her struggling and he knew it was a act. Then she got to the middle and just seemed to hop off. By the horrified look on her face he knew that it couldn't have been an accident.

"Something doesn't add up." He said pressing the rewind button on the cassette. This time through he looked for cues. He noticed that the song ended right before the accident but she jumped after the band started up another one.

"Could that be a cue?" he thought out loud.

"What?" Natalie asked turning off the television.

"Never mind." He said making a mental note to question the band conductor. Then he decided to look at the crime seen more carefully, because it is good to have more than one lead.

They brought a fire truck that could lift investigators up to the tight rope to see if there are any clues up there, but Adrian knew that someone couldn't have tampered with the rope and go unnoticed for the first part of the act.

What he was looking for a motive and was interviewing some of the people she worked with. That's how he discovered that the band conductor was her husband, but he left soon after it happened, looking very depressed.

Then he went outside of the tent to think over everything he just learned.

As he was going over his thoughts he started pacing. That's when Captain Stottlemeyer came out of the crowd wiping the sweat from his brow. It was a hot day and being stuck in a circus tent was not helping that fact.

He went over to Natalie and stood there for a second watching Monk pace back and fourth in his suit. He didn't know how he could stand being so stuffed up in that.

After a minute of watching Stottlemeyer looked at Natalie and said "Turns out to be a accident, or we couldn't find anything so uhh-" he gestured towards Adrian "You can tell him to stop now,"

Adrian looked up and noticed Stottlemeyer there and said "No… no something just doesn't add up."

"Things don't have to add up Monk." replied Stottlemeyer.

Adrian thought that over for a second and then said "Well, yha- it sort of dose."

Then the Captain walked up to him and said "Well, then what do you think?"

"I am not sure yet, but I have a lead." Monk said going in to deep thought.

"Look, we looked in to it and she just fell! No one tampered with the rope or anything. No mystery here Monk, you can just go home." said Captain Stottlemeyer. Monk started pacing back and fourth again.

Then he stopped and said "But- how? She was a highly trained tight rope walker. How could she just fall in the middle of the rope? Even less likely jump? Okay she was blindfolded- but she has done the act many times and never fell before. She must have got the feel for when to stop. They probably had a cue or something to tell her when to stop, and I think I found something" Adrian looked from the Captain to Natalie.

He didn't want to tell the Captain yet, not until he was sure.

Captain Stottlemeyer threw up his arms in defeat. "Okay Monk, if you want to investigate this you can, but I seriously doubt that you will find any thing." Then he turned on his heal and walked away.

Monk watched him until the crowed swallowed him up. Then he saw a middle age woman coming towards him. She looked very upset. She walked over to him and asked quietly, "Are you Adrian Monk?"

"Um- yes." He simply said.

"Oh thank you God," she said in a shaky voice. "I am Christina's mother, Samantha Havlo, and…and…" she left the sentence unfinished and started to sob.

Monk felt unsure of what to do. He shifted his wait form one foot to the next and looked over pleadingly at Natalie. Natalie rolled her eyes and went over and put her arm around Samantha's shoulder and led her to the bleachers to sit down.

Samantha continued to cry and said in between sobs "She… she couldn't have fell! She talked to me… she talked to before the show and… and she was so confident and and..." she started to sob even harder and her words were drowned out.

Natalie gave her a tissue and tried to comfort her.

After a while she calmed down a little and was able to choke out "Mr. Monk, please help me, it couldn't have been a accident because she has been doing the act for many years. I don't know if someone tampered with the rope or if somehow somebody pushed her but it was not on accident! Please- please figure out what happened!" She looked up at his serious face.

"I'll do what I can." Monk said looking down at her feeling a pang of sympathy. He knew what it felt like to lose a loved one. Her coming up to him asking for his help encouraged him to find out who murdered Christina more than anything else.

"Thank you Mr. Monk- and may God be with you." She then got up and walked away.

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TBC…

Here is another riddle. (They are all killing ones…sorry!)

Riddle- When the buzzard sounded he fell to his death.

A.- When the buzzard on a army jet plane sounded a soldier jumped off (with a parachute) in enemy territory and he was shot. REVIEW!


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